CHAPTER 17: MISSION

Although his body was being filled with only one-tenth of the equivalent amount of spirit qi, it was still better than nothing.

To cultivate in the Qi Refinement Realm was easy — all one had to do was absorb spirit qi and open all the meridians. There were twelve in total. Opening one to three counted as the Early Stage of Refinement, four to six was the Mid Stage, seven to nine was the Late Stage, and ten to twelve was the Peak Stage.

Lin Feng did not have to do much, only keep absorbing spirit qi and striking at the blockage. His spirit qi would be absorbed into his first meridian and would not move further unless the blockage was broken.

The movement of spirit qi was controlled by the breathing technique. There was one issue, though — all top cultivation techniques cultivated both body and qi together.

Thus, the amount of spirit qi he needed to get through the first meridian was halved, as his body absorbed half of the spirit qi and transformed it into blood qi.

The first stage of body cultivation was the Flesh Tempering Stage, which was also divided into Early, Mid, Late, and Peak stages.

In this stage, one tempers their muscles, tendons, and skin. All of these were tempered together, and one’s stage was defined by how much they had been tempered.

Lin Feng was certain his cultivation technique would handle this, as body cultivation only required spirit qi and no deliberate attention, so long as he could endure the pain of tempering.

He could stop his body cultivation if he wished, but there was not much pain in tempering his flesh, so he continued it alongside his qi cultivation.

He kept absorbing qi, feeling the tingling sensation in his muscles and skin, while also sensing the blockage in his meridian.

Although he could absorb ten times the normal amount of spirit qi because of his yang qi, he did not have to do so for advancement. Since his yang qi was heavier, it could easily break through the blockage once he gathered enough, and right now, it was enough.

He immediately pushed a little harder using his breathing technique, and as expected, the blockage opened without any resistance.

He instantly felt a rise in strength as his first meridian connected with the second, both nourished by his yang qi.

His flesh also absorbed yang qi to temper itself, so it took some time before he entered the Early Stage of Flesh Tempering as well.

"It feels good..." He truly felt pleased. Being at the Early Stage meant he had shed his mortal identity — now he was a genuine cultivator.

Lin Feng did not stop cultivating and continued on. However, the strength of the blockages increased exponentially with each meridian, so breaking through the second blockage would take much longer.

Gathering enough qi to do so in a single day would be impossible, especially with his body cultivation running alongside it.

He cultivated for two hours before finally deciding to leave. His aunt had left him hanging, and now it was time to visit her. After his breakthrough and with yang qi in his body, he could feel the rising heat of lust in his loins.

Lin Feng immediately made his way to his peak. Since all the peaks were connected, he did not have to go through the main sect to reach the Treasure Peak. Although, if he wished, no one would stop him — in fact, he could freely enter the main sect if he desired... but he simply did not.

Some disciples might not like it. Hatred for men had been deeply rooted in most disciples of this sect. Well, he really did not care anyway.

After crossing a narrow pathway between peaks, he arrived at Treasure Peak and made his way to the abode where his aunt handled all affairs.

Upon entering, he was surprised to see another person there, Mo Yan, whom he had met yesterday. They seemed to be discussing something.

Xuan Lian and Mo Yan both looked at him. Mo Yan was quite surprised, as Lin Feng had entered without announcing his arrival.

This was the abode of a Peak Master — even elders announced themselves and requested permission before entering. It seemed her junior brother enjoyed many privileges. Another thing that surprised her was his cultivation realm.

Everyone knew that due to certain injuries, their chief disciple could not cultivate. She herself had seen him yesterday without any cultivation base, and today he was already at the Early Stage of Qi Refinement.

Xuan Lian was surprised yet relieved. Hearing that he could cultivate was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was another. She was truly happy at this moment.

Suddenly, a thought came to her regarding their current predicament. She beckoned Lin Feng to come closer, which he did without hesitation.

"Yan’er, I think I have found the solution for this mission."

Mo Yan was confused, but suddenly she looked toward Lin Feng with wide eyes and nodded. "I think that would work perfectly, Peak Master Xuan."

Lin Feng was puzzled. It seemed they had decided to use him for some mission.

"Aunt, are you sending me on a suicide mission?"

Xuan Lian smiled. "Not really. It’s a mission that a scoundrel like you would definitely enjoy."

Mo Yan was surprised by how frankly Peak Master Xuan spoke to Lin Feng.

"Anyway, go with Mo Yan. We need all the hands we can get for the time being. She will explain the details of the mission, and it is a very important one, so take it seriously," Xuan Lian said.

Lin Feng nodded. He was eager to do something. He had always stayed on the peaks or gone out only when flying with his master — he had never gone out by himself on foot. It was time to see the world in its full view.

His only disappointment was that he had wanted to bring her to bed today, but it seemed he would have to postpone it. Oh well.

He had spoken with Senior Sister Mo Yan, and she did not seem to mind the fact that he was male, so he doubted she would be uncomfortable going on a mission with him.

Although he was curious about what kind of mission someone at only the Early Stage of Qi Refinement could accomplish.

"Senior Sister, please take care of me." He bowed and waited for them to leave.

"Junior Brother, you are being humble. Let’s go — we must complete this mission as quickly as possible," she said while heading out. Jiang Hao followed.

There was a path to descend from every peak to the base of the mountain, so he thought they would walk that path. But instead, Mo Yan took out a small spirit boat and climbed aboard.

"Come up, Junior Brother. We have to go almost to the borders of the Northern Region."

Lin Feng was surprised. He had thought the mission was somewhere nearby, but it seemed they would be traveling far. Even with a spirit boat, it would take quite a while.

He leapt onto the boat, and just as they were about to depart, Xuan Lian appeared again.

"Wait a moment... here, take this too."

Lin Feng caught it — it was a spatial ring. Now that he could use qi, he could easily access it. He put it on, and with a small amount of qi, its contents instantly appeared in his mind as though they were memories. Inside were talismans, a sword, and some pills.

"They are mainly defensive talismans. Use them without hesitation if needed."

Lin Feng nodded. "I will, Aunt."

Mo Yan channeled her spirit qi, and they finally flew away from the peak. Once they reached a certain height, she greatly increased their speed.

Lin Feng was certain this was quite a high-grade spirit boat.

"Senior Sister, what is the grade of this spirit boat?"

"It’s a Higher Stage Grade 7 Treasure."

Lin Feng nodded in awe. That meant it was equivalent in grade to the Void Tribulation Realm, and it was even of the Higher Stage.

Treasures were mainly divided into Grade 1 to Grade 9 according to cultivation realms. They were further classified into Lower Stage, Medium Stage, Higher Stage, Peak Stage, and Perfect Stage.

Senior Sister Mo Yan was in the Void Tribulation Realm, as strong as the ordinary elders of the sect and just below the Heaven Ascension Realm. So for her, having a Grade 7 treasure was unsurprising — but spirit boats were far more valuable than other treasures.

This was definitely something bestowed upon her by the sect. Since she often went on various missions alone, it was perfect for her.

Because the spirit boat was protected by a defensive barrier, the wind did not strike his face. Only a minimal amount of air was allowed in, keeping the inside fresh and cool.

He also loved the view of passing mountains, rivers, and forests. Their speed was truly astonishing — everything vanished in mere seconds.